A couple of months ago I wrote about my experiences at the Melbourne International Motor Show in Australia. Today, I attended the New York International Auto Show. It was one of my first experiences of an expo, trade show, or lifestyle show in the US.
The commonly-shared human truths vastly outnumbered the cultural differences (the most distinctive thing being Americans' greater willingness and enthusiasm to participate in competitions and activities on the stands).
A few observations...
ONE. The primary form of brand experience on motor show stands remains interaction with the cars. Most brands haven't figured out what to do to create great interactive experiences beyond the cars. Most attempts at brand experiences are poorly thought-out and executed...asking people to do things of no value or interest to them. Most attempts at lead generation and data capture are clumsy and brand damaging. And then there are the brands that just give up and let people play on aWii, in the hope of creating some stickiness around their stand.
TWO. People love seeing themselves with cars. They love to day dream, and share those dreams with friends and family. So they love being pictured with cars they don't own. And not just Ferraris, but far more everyday cars too.
THREE. The most interesting things at motor shows are the new, the curious, the exotic, and the unaffordable. Gone are the days when a comprehensive range was an interesting thing, or when people went to motor shows to gather information. These days it's about experience, and the stands that thrive are bolder in their decisions to show interesting things and represent an idea (rather than show a complete range of showroom-ready vehicles).
FOUR. Curious brand partnerships continue to grow in popularity. Microsoft, Sony, W Hotels, and Wired were just four brands that were prominent in their automotive involvement.
FIVE. Stuff that doesn't work sucks. More than 50 per cent of all technology I interacted with didn't function as intended. That's plain poor.
Some images that go with the comments and observations above...you can make up your own mind which go with which...
Comments